Fresh Focus Banana 2021

ANALYSIS Publication Sponsor

COOPERATION NOT CONFRONTATION Koen Van Dyck, from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, said that Farm To Fork was essential if the EU was to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and he stressed that the strategy was “not about confrontation, it’s about cooperation”.

“The solution is not in one LEFT—Carolina

Dawson of French

silver bullet, but in different aspects overall that allow the

research centre

reduction of dangerous pesticides

Cirad

and the safeguarding of the health of consumers,” he said.

Sustainable bananas take cooperation

He highlighted the need for communication, not just with producers, but also the authorities.

“It’s about health,” he concluded.

“Trade will follow.”

Carolina Dawson of French

The global banana sector will need to work together in

research centre Cirad said that

order to become more sustainable, according to experts on

in order to address the issue of

a webinar to mark Banana Day.

decreasing prices, it was crucial to analyse how value was distributed throughout the supply chain. She

by Tom Joyce

stressed the need for transparency

@tomfruitnet

in order to discover the real costs and value of efforts that would

O

but he added that there was an

April, expert speakers

urgent need to innovate in order

is exactly the way to improve

discussed the issue of

to move away from the blanket

the situation,” she noted. “It is

sustainability in the banana

use of fertilisers and diversify

necessary to boost dialogue, reach

sector during a webinar entitled

the crop.

compromises and come out of

“Opening up this sort of debate

“When Farm To Fork Goes

the traditional price war system,

Bananas”.

which isn’t adequate for the

Professor Gert Kema of Wageningen University opened by acknowledging that banana producers had little option other than to use fertilisers given the susceptibility of the Cavendish variety to disease.

“TR4 is a threat,” he said, “but

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lead to sustainable bananas.

n Banana Day on 21

It is necessary to boost dialogue, reach compromises and come out of the traditional price war system Spanish MEP Juan Ignacio Zoido said that pesticide and

industry overall.”

Maija Laurila, of the EC’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, said it was necessary to remind the sector that what was good for the environment was often good for business as well.

it is still just in Colombia and

fertiliser reduction was a key

“We have a lot of evidence on

Peru. Black Sigatoka, however, is

part of the EU’s Farm To Fork

how good corporate governance

everywhere. We grow one very

strategy to boost quality and

and sustainability actions are

susceptible variety, and that by

sustainability. But he stressed

profitable for businesses,” she said.

its definition is not sustainable.”

that the “proper administrations”

“We need to show that it is also

Kema said it was important

needed to assist growers with the

good for them and that every

to remember that “we only grow

costs of researching and breeding

company can adopt the transition

bananas because of fertilisers”,

new varieties.

to more a sustainable business.” _

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